The Church of Sweden has elected the country’s first female archbishop, adding to the growing number of female church leaders around the world.
The Lutheran church says Antje Jackelén, 58, secured 55.9 per cent of the votes among 325 members of local church boards.
While the Roman Catholic Church doesn’t allow the ordination of women, it is not uncommon among some Protestant churches. The church of Norway is led by a woman, Helga Haugland Byfuglien, and the Episcopal Church of the United States is headed by Katharine Jefferts Schori.
Jackelén, who was born in Germany, studied at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago and has been the bishop of the city of Lund in southern Sweden since 2007.
